Airbnb is shutting down its business in the domestic markets of mainland China, according to sources familiar with this matter. The company is poised to close all its Chinese listings, both homes and experiences.
Sources also confirmed that Airbnb will still maintain one branch with hundreds of employees in Beijing to keep its Chinese outbound traveling business. Though Airbnb’s Chinese domestic business is gloomy, the company holds an optimistic attitude towards providing listings for Chinese travelers going abroad.
Image by Lauren Arena
As we know, Airbnb struggled in the nearly periods of this covid-19 pandemic, dismissing about 25% of its employees in May 2020, and then went to public in November of the same year with an IPO price of $68. After that, the company’s shares have fallen more than 30% to date.
The last two year’s pandemic has been a big hit for almost very industry, especially the airline and traveling. Of course, Airbnb is one of the victims. Business has turned around as people started traveling again this year, and the company is experiencing an uptick in long-term rentals because of the flexible work arrangements many employers planned out. However, the Chinese business is far from getting back on track with the speed as other nations are experiencing, since the Chinese government has reined in tightly the dynamic zero COVID-19 strategy and periodically locked down to combat against the subsequent waves of infection.
Airbnb kicked off its mainland China business in 2016 and has since then faced mounting competitions from domestic companies. One source says that operating business for Airbnb in China is especially pricing and complex. Nathan Blecharczyk, Chairman of Airbnb China, says that books of stays and experience in China typically account for about 1 % of the company’s overall revenue, and the harsh and continuing pandemic has been worsening the company’s performance in China.
